Lisana thought and thought and thought. She was entirely uncertain what to give as tribute to Yu. She had never met him to know what to offer. A party would not do, and neither would clowns she was quite certain. It had been days since she had heard of others giving him something and she felt she should offer something also. After all, he was the Pillar and one of those who helped protect them all.Once she had seen him from a distance. He had several eyes and she thought about getting him three sets of sunglasses. Then she remembered there was no sun yet. That idea was quickly tossed away to think of something better. But whatever would he like? Then she thought about his fur. Perhaps a special comb to brush him out with. No. That would not do. He might take offense and think she was saying he needed groomed.
Laughter sighed as she looked thru the various tings she had. Jewelry of all sorts that had once been Eftemie's. Books of all sizes that contained puns, riddles, and many started out with "1001 ways to..." in their titles. What would he want?
His host, Fragment, looked like a big furry puppy. She wanted to scratch his head, but had seen his teeth from a distance. No, it would not do to stick her hand in his mouth at all. But what did puppies like? Bones. Chew toys. They yapped and played and thumped their tails while tripping over their long ears. These thoughts put Lisana in a quandry.
Was she supposed to give the puppy something too? Now she needed more than one gift. After speaking to her aoidei, she set them to looking for presents from the things she had. They needed to find at least two. One for Yu and one for the puppy.
Jhyett scratched her head offering a ball of string immediately. "For the puppy, mrow," she stated instantly.
"Cats play with string, Jhyett. Not puppies." Lisana laughed. "Keep looking." She moved towards the bookcase thinking about a book of riddles for Yu. Perhaps one she particularly liked that would take him awhile to read.
Jhyett glanced at Arlecchino, asking, "So what do puppies like?" Her face was in total confusion at the rejection of a ball of string. A ball of string was the most fantastic thing ever. One could roll it, unravel it, and get tangled in it. What more was necessary?
"Bones. Chew toys. Although I could see him considering you one." Arlecchino replied, then giggled as she watched the feline beside her.
"Me? Why? Dogs don't like cats." The innocence on her face only made the other giggle more.
It took them nearly the entire day to settle on what to give Yu and hope he would find some interest in them. Taking a blue basket, Lisana tied a violet and white polka dotted ribbon to it. She was sure this would amuse him. After all was that not the point of her gift? To make he and his puppy happy? And she had done it in one gift.
When she approached the dais, she set the basket before him. Curtseying her best, she began. "Lord Yu, I brought you a gift. First I thought of giving you a book of riddles and puns. But then I figured you already know how to laugh. I have seen your teeth on a number of occasions when you smile. Then there is a bubble wand that makes bubbles that sound like laughter when they pop. It's a good party trick but if you know how to laugh, then you don't need bubbles to do so. So after looking all day long..," she said, then hesitated. "well... It's for you and the puppy." Lisana hoped he understood she meant his host, Fragment.
The amber striped cat she pulled out of the basket, purred as she sent it towards Yu. "Every god needs a pet to curl up in front of the fire with, and every puppy needs a chew toy." She curtseyed, backing away to let the next person have their chance.
